Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the day of Reconciliation, Ncome Museum, Nquthu Local Municipality
Programme Directors,
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr Gayton McKenzie,
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Thami Ntuli,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Members of Parliament,
Executive Mayor of the Umzinyathi District Municipality, Cllr Thembisile Mchunu,
Chairperson of the Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations, Dr Carel Boshoff,
Religious, traditional and community leaders present,
Representatives of political parties,
The community of Nquthu,
Distinguished Guests,
Fellow South Africans,
Sanibonani sizwe sikaPhunga noMageba
Dumelang Basotho baNquthu.
Avuxeni. Ndi Matsheloni. Lotjhani. Sanibonani. Goeie môre. Molweni.
It is an honour and a privilege to be here at eNcome Museum, eNquthu on this day that has such profound meaning for our nation.
It was here, more than 180 years ago, on the 16th of December 1838, that more than 3,000 brave warriors fell in battle in defence of their ancestral land.
Under the leadership of uDingane kaSenzangakhona and uNdlela kaSompisi, they marched on the Voortrekker encampment at the edge of the Ncome River.
The Voortrekkers would say their victory that day came from God. They would call it Geloftedag, Day of the Vow.
But there is the reality of history. The Zulu impi advanced with amaKlwa and iziHlangu, to be shot down with rifles, muskets and cannons.
They were the bravest of the brave. They fought to defend their land, their rights and their sovereignty.
Commemorating the 16th of December provides us with an opportunity to confront our past with honesty, acknowledge the complexities of our shared history and commit ourselves to building a peaceful future together.
Our democracy was built on reconciliation.
South Africans bear the scars of centuries of dispossession and oppression, of resistance being met with batons and bullets.
We recall the Battle of Ncome. The Bambatha Rebellion. The Bulhoek Massacre. The 1946 Mineworkers Strike. Sharpeville. Langa. Cato Manor. Western Deep Levels. The Trojan Horse Massacre. Sebokeng. Boipatong.
The names of these events and places ring in our collective memory. They symbolised terrible brutality unleashed on black South Africans.
The former oppressors tried to turn South Africans against each other, fomenting violence, terror and instability that tore communities apart.
This province, KwaZulu-Natal, knows this pain all too well. The people of this province experienced decades of political violence in the 1980s and 1990s that destroyed families and led to the loss of many lives.
The majority of South Africans were victims of a political order that denied them their humanity.
And yet at the dawn of democracy, they did not choose vengeance or retribution.
Where others wanted to break, they chose to build. Where others wanted to sow division, they chose reconciliation.
We chose this path together, not because the past does not matter, but because we took to heart the words of President Nelson Mandela, when he said: “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
We chose the path of reconciliation because we envisioned a society where the children of the former oppressor and the oppressed could live together, side by side, without fear.
In 1994 we restored what apartheid tried to break: the dignity of every South African man, woman and child.
Since the advent of democracy, we have sought to do away with symbols that are divisive.
This year, we return to eNcome not to reopen old wounds, but to reaffirm our promise to future generations that South Africa shall never again be divided by hatred, injustice or exclusion.
Sabuyisana ngo 1994. Sisabuyisana ngo 2025. Sisazoqhubeka nokubuyisana ngoba siyisizwe esisodwa – sonke siyizakhamuzi zaseNingizimu Afrika.
(We reconciled in 1994. We are still reconciling in 2025. We shall continue to reconcile our differences because we are one nation – we are all South African citizens)
Together, we have overcome great challenges but still a lot remains to be done.
Here in the Umzinyathi District Municipality, eNquthu and eMsinga are some of the most underdeveloped rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal.
We must tackle stubbornly high youth unemployment in a different way. Young people should not have to cast their eyes to big cities for better opportunities. Jobs must be created in our rural towns and villages.
This area is rich in heritage. It known as the ‘custodian’ of the Battlefields of the Zulu Kingdom.
This is a place that should attract travellers from near and far.
It is the youth of this area who should be welcoming, accommodating and feeding these visitors.
Akuxoxwe ngobuqhawe besizwe, kubukelwe besina, bese kukhokhwa imali ezothuthukisa izindawo lapho lamasiko agxile khona.
(Stories of brave warriors must be told, the cultural dances watched, then payments made to uplift the communities who are the custodians of the heritage).
Fellow South Africans,
There are those, inside and outside our country, who are trying their utmost to paint a false picture of us as the South African people.
They do not tell us what the surveys say: that the majority of South Africans are hopeful about the state of our democracy. They do not tell us that the majority of South Africans believe race relations have improved since 1994.
They do not show the pictures of African, white, Indian and coloured children learning together, studying together and playing together.
They do not want to talk about the friendships, neighbourliness and kindness shown by black and white towards each other.
They don’t want to play all the social media clips we are seeing of young Afrikaners in veldskoens dancing to amapiano, and white teenagers speaking fluent isiZulu with their friends.
Our country’s detractors are not talking about successful land restitution, of communities sharing the land and of successful black farmers.
Instead they are painting a false picture designed to sow fear and hatred. We must not let them succeed in their efforts.
Uma siqhubeka sakha isizwe sethu saseNingizimu Afrika sibumbene – akekho oyokwazi ukutshala imbewu yokucwasana phakathi kwethu.
(If we continue and together we build our nation as South Africans, there will be no one who will be able to plant the seed of discrimination and exclusiveness amongst us.)
We are a country of many diverse views. People understand our history in different ways. And they experience the reality of the present in different ways.
We must not try to hide these differences. We must speak about them and continue to work to bridge them.
As a country, we have embarked on a National Dialogue to bring all South Africans together to forge a shared vision of our future – and to agree on the actions we must take together to build that future.
No person, no group and no community must be excluded from that dialogue.
Let us use the National Dialogue to resolve our differences and to find common ground.
By so doing, we will be able to confront the many challenges facing our nation, such as poverty and inequality, crime and corruption, and gender-based violence and femicide.
For as long as the majority of black South Africans live in poverty, for as long as inequality persists, our country will not find true reconciliation.
Our pursuit of inclusive economic growth and job creation, our efforts to reduce poverty and bring down the cost of living, are essential for reconciliation.
We cannot be reconciled as a people if our communities are terrorised by criminals and deprived of what is due to them by corrupt officials.
We cannot build a nation that is at peace with itself for as long as violence against women and children continues.
This goes against everything that our ancestors, the brave warriors here at Ncome and elsewhere, gave their lives for.
It is time that the men of our country harness the warrior spirit of our people to protect women and children and to say: “Not in our name.”
In many of our cultures and traditions an offence against a woman was not permissible. It was deemed as disrespect for the entire family.
Killing a woman was an abomination. Not only did such a killing take her life but the lives of all the children she was still going to give birth to.
Sizofike sithini kokhokho bethu ngegazi elingaka Labantu besifazane esilichitha nsukuzonke?
(What are we going to tell our forefathers about the blood of women we shed daily?)
The Day of Reconciliation is about advancing reconciliation, justice and nation-building. As black and white, as young and old, but also as men and women.
Real men do not abuse women and children. Real men protect women and children.
We are a country of diverse cultures, languages, beliefs and traditions.
Here eNquthu, we have a beautiful and diverse community that is an integral part of our rainbow nation.
Here, a person can be as proud of their Basotho heritage or their Zulu culture or their Afrikaans language as they are of their South African identity.
The apartheid regime tried to turn South Africans against one another, but they did not succeed.
The son of this very soil who has made a name for himself in the whole country through Maskandi music, Imfezi Emnyama, proudly wears the Basotho blanket and a hat on some of his CD covers because he grew up in a part of the country where there was no discrimination against other peoples.
I’m talking about umfokaKhumalo, uMashobane.
In the song Nibizelwe, Imfezi Emnyama ithi:
Kutheni silwa sodwa maAfrika Amahle
(Why are we fighting amongst ourselves beautiful Africans)
Kutheni sixabana sodwa ….
(Why quarrels amongst us)
May his stirring song remind us that we are one people, united in our diversity.
Today is a day of commemoration for all of us, black and white. Our upbringing and culture may influence how we interpret the history of this day, but of one thing we can be certain: we have come a long way.
We have many challenges, but let us be proud that we are a united nation that faces those challenges together.
During the December holidays we gather together as families. May we also find time to reconcile as families – as uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and grandparents. Healthy families produce healthy communities.
Let us enjoy the festive season safely. Let us not drink and drive. Let us report crime when we see it, and help keep each other safe.
Let us work together for a better South Africa, which belongs to all who live in it, black and white, men and women, young and old.
May God bless South Africa and protect its people.
I thank you.
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